Suspect in food tampering cases arrested
David Lohr allegedly poured bleach onto cartons of eggs at Sunnyvale Safeway
SUNNYVALE >> A man wanted by the FBI for food tampering at a number of Los Angeles-area grocery stores was arrested last week for allegedly pouring bleach onto cartons of eggs and hydrogen peroxide into a tray of rotisserie chickens at a Safeway in Sunnyvale, authorities said.
David Lohr, 48, came to the attention of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office after he was spotted spreading a white powder — later determined to be salt — and hydrogen peroxide aboard a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority bus in Sunnyvale on Feb. 6, according to Deputy Michael Low.
Low said the driver cleared the bus of passengers, but Lohr slipped away before deputies arrived. He was later spotted by another driver at a bus stop near El Camino Real and San Antonio Road in Los Altos. Deputies raced to the location and detained him.
Lohr, they learned, had a felony no-bail warrant out of the FBI-Los Angeles Office for food tampering and attempting to tamper with consumer products, according to Low.
Deputies also found salt and several receipts in Lohr’s pockets, which led them to a Safeway in Sunnyvale.
Employees at the grocery store told deputies they discovered an empty bottle of hydrogen peroxide and hydrogen peroxide spilled into a heated tray of rotisserie chickens on Jan. 28. Low said Lohr was also caught on camera pouring bleach onto cartons of eggs.
Bleach contains hazardous material that can irritate the respiratory tract when inhaled and cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea if inhaled.
The sheriff’s office is investigating whether any of the chickens or eggs were sold to the public. It has notified and is working closely with the county’s Department of Environmental Health.
“The quick response and thorough investigation by our deputies prompted by vigilant and observant VTA bus drivers led to the apprehension of this suspect, whose actions had the potential to adversely affect the public’s health and safety,” Sheriff Laurie Smith in a statement. She also praised the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety for swiftly clearing and determining the white powder on the bus was not hazardous.
Lohr is suspected of pouring bleach into refrigerators and freezers containing ice and alcoholic beverages at markets in Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Westwood and West Hollywood in December and January. Customers also reported smelling or handling frozen shrimp contaminated by bleach at some of those stores, according to an FBI affidavit.
Lohr was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on the warrant, and new food tampering charges are pending. He appeared in federal court on Feb. 8 and remains in federal custody.
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information about the alleged food tampering to call 408-8084500. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call 408-808-4431.